[english] Within a world in crisis, full of violence, poverty and exploitation, Facebook has decided to shut down the fb page of "WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE @ GREECE" http://facebook.com/wnbr.greece on the grounds that it violates their regulations, that it contains nudity, pornography or sexual solicitation. The hypocrisy surrounding our natural naked body is outrageous, when at the same time Facebook has been maintaining a huge profit industry around it. Well-known magazines, movies and websites earn millions from exploitation of our naked body and Facebook allows advertisements, pages & groups for such commercial purposes.

[english]The World Naked Bike Ride is a movement that started in 2004 from Vancouver, Canada and quickly spread to more than 70 cities around the world. It is a totally peaceful, anti-war, non-violent and innocent, supporting freedom of mind, expression & human rights movement. In Thessaloniki it is being organized since 2008 and this year the 6th World Naked Bike Ride took place with the participation of more than 2,000 cyclists. Its mission is to promote cycling as a means of transport against car culture and the pollution it creates, in favour of oil independence, environmental protection, ecology and the de-criminalization of natural naked body. We want to put a stop to the indecent exposure of people and the planet to pollution. We face automobile traffic with our naked bodies as the best way of defending our dignity and raising awareness about the vulnerability of cyclists and pedestrians on the streets, as well as the negative consequences we all face due to dependence on oil, and other forms of non-renewable energy. We declare our confidence in the beauty and individuality of our bodies.

The facebook page of the World Naked Bike Ride @ Greece has been an example of good usage, publishing interesting issues about cycling, ecology, naturism and against the cheap lifestyle that dominates social media. The ride itself is a celebration, that has an artistic and socio-political nature and has nothing to do with pornography or sexual solicitation, as implied by facebook. This is evident in the photographs and videos taken during the event. In addition, the photo album of the 6th World Naked Bike Ride was modified carefully in order to prevent body parts such as genitals or female nipples from being clearly discernible, according to the rules of facebook and despite the fact that we disagree with this hypocrisy.

For these reasons we believe that the closure of our page on facebook lies on political grounds. We have dealt with issues that are disturbing to big interests, such as: against dependence on oil, lignite & nuclear energy, against destructive gold mining, in favour of water as a public good and of natural birth against caesarean delivery, supporting Pussy Riot and FEMEN for freedom of expression, claiming the former military camps as open green spaces, promoting respect for free sexual orientation, animal rights & veganism etc..

Moreover we were targeted by nationalist and religious groups, although the Ancient Greek civilization, that we are supposedly proud of, gave birth to naturism and tolerance of sexual preferences. Moreover, during their stay at the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were close to God, naked , innocent, not feeling ashamed about their bodies.

In the name of freedom of expression, we demand the immediate restoration of our page on Facebook. Furthermore we ask for the amendment of the rules of Facebook, as well as other social media networks such as Google+, Twitter, so that the exposure of our natural innocent naked body is no longer considered indicent and illegal. The difference between this and pornography is clear and distinct. Recently, social media page Pinterest announced that it is revising its rules so that artistic nudity is allowed on its page.

We call active citizens, collectives, organizations and groups to support our campaign in restoring our Facebook Page, by spreading the word to friends, members, contacts, media and social media.

HOW U CAN HELP

If you are a group, collective or organization and would like to become an official supporter of our campaign, please contact us at: info@worldnakedbikeride.gr.